Geographical origin traceability of Sengcu rice using elemental markers and multivariate analysis

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science
• Chemometrics

Background:

• Rice is a staple food, and ensuring its authenticity and origin is crucial for consumers and industry.
• Food adulteration, particularly with rice, poses significant challenges to quality control and consumer trust.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a multi-element analysis and chemometric approach for distinguishing Sengcu rice from other rice types.
• To identify key elemental markers for the geographical traceability of Sengcu rice within Vietnam.
• To assess the potential for detecting food adulteration using this analytical method.

Main Methods:

• Multi-element analysis of rice samples.
• Application of chemometric techniques, including linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA).
• Validation of the models using training and testing datasets.

Main Results:

• Specific elements (As, Ba, Sr, Pb, Ca, Se) were identified as key markers for tracing Sengcu rice from Lao Cai.
• Different elemental profiles (Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Ag, As) distinguished Sengcu rice from other varieties.
• High correct identification rates (approx. 100%) were achieved for differentiating Sengcu rice from other types.
• Geographical origin discrimination for Sengcu rice yielded high accuracy rates (80%-99%).

Conclusions:

• The combined multi-element analysis and chemometric method is highly effective for rice authentication and geographical traceability.
• The study provides a robust analytical framework for identifying Sengcu rice and its origin.
• The findings suggest the presence of food adulteration, highlighting the utility of this method for quality assurance.